Digital World Restart
by Barbara Fett
Summary: What happens to the Digital World without a real world to support it? This is a spinoff of my "Vanessa Vacation" fic series.
1. Death of the Real World

A/N: This is a spinoff of my "Vanessa Vacation" series of fics. You don't have to read the entire series, but it would help to read two stories. "Vanessa Vacation Meets Veemon" tells how Vanessa became a friend of the Digital World, and "Vanessa Vacation and the Vogons" tells what happened to the real world in more detail. You can find them both in my profile.   
This fic uses Japanese names for everything. For those who don't know, the levels are: Baby = either Fresh or Baby I, In-Training = Baby II, Rookie = Child, Champion = Adult, Ultimate = Perfect, Mega = Ultimate. As to the Guardians, Qinglongmon is the dragon, Zhuqiaomon is the bird, Xuanwumon is the turtle, and Baihumon is the tiger. These are all from the Japanese card game. [Also, even though Zhuqiaomon is male in Tamers and (presumably) Adventure, the one in this story is female. This was done because it was more fun to write her that way.] Any time Japanese words are used in this story, they will be "subtitled" with square brackets [like this].   


The last day the planet Earth ever had was a Thursday. It dawned in England and was almost half over before the end came from a fleet of Vogon ships. It just barely dawned in Venton, the small town in Canada where Vanessa Vacation and her mother lived. 

It never dawned in Japan. The ships arrived when Japan was on the night side of the planet. 

There, like everywhere else in the world, every single stereo, TV, computer, and various other gadgets turned themselves on to deliver the message from the captain of the Vogon fleet. It woke everyone up. Many of them ran around in a panic. A lot of them made last-minute peaces or said goodbyes to the people around them. For the eleven Chosen Children who lived there, the last few minutes went like this. 

- 

"Can't we escape to the Digital World, Taichi?" 

"No, _imouto _[little sister]. If this world gets destroyed, there won't be anything to balance the Digital World." 

"What will happen to it then?" 

"I don't know, but even we can't help now." 

- 

"_Moshi moshi? _[Hello?]" 

"Takeru?" 

"_Hai? _[Yes?]" 

"I just called to comfort you . . ." 

"Oh, Yamato . . . thank you." 

"Can you think of anything to do now?" 

"No . . . why are you asking me?" 

"Well . . . hope. That's the kind of thing you would do." 

"So much for that. I wish we didn't live so far apart." 

"Me, too . . ." 

- 

_I remember my first time in the Digital World, when I thought it was all a twisted alien plot. Little did I know that there was a _real _twisted alien plot out there._

_I've worked with computers all my life, and I've never seen them do anything like this. The technology involved with this whole plan . . . it's mind-blowing trying to think about it. It's such a shame that space travel at that level is beyond any human's knowledge, even mine, and I was its first holder. To have to die without knowing about that, and without knowing so many other things, will be the worst agony . . ._

_-_

"Mom?" 

"_Nandai? _[What is it?]" 

The daughter gave her mother a red tulip. "I love you." 

"I love you, too." 

The teenaged girl stood there despondently, staring out the window at a Vogon ship and thinking. _So this is the end. I may have had Love for a while, but romantic love is something I've never known and never will know. Oh, Taichi. We could have been so much more than just friends. I could have love you, and you me, and we could have been so happy together. Why do we have to be separated like this? Oh, if only you knew how I feel . . ._

_-_

_This can't be happening. It must be a dream. In half a minute I'll be awake and safe._

Half a minute passed. Nothing changed. 

_Oh, crud._

_Once, I had Faith. Where has it gone? Never mind, I know the answer to that, but I could really use it right now . . . not to fight with, but just to _believe _with. Then maybe I wouldn't be so afraid._

_-_

A boy was crying. "I'm too beautiful to die, Chibimon!" 

"If I could save you from them, I would," said the small, blue Digimon. 

The door of the room began to open. Chibimon hid under a blanket. 

"Daisuke?" said a female voice. 

"Go away, Jun," said Daisuke. 

"I came to say goodbye," Jun persisted, opening the door wider, "and that I don't hate you." 

"Oh . . ." He got up and walked over to her. "I've been so horrible to you . . . I can't believe you don't hate me." 

"I'm your sister, Dai. I can't hate you completely." 

They found themselves holding each other and crying. 

- 

"Miyako?" 

"What?" 

"What are you thinking about?" 

"My family and how much they love me. The fact that my debt to my parents for all the food is about to be canceled. My friends, and all our adventures. Ken. What about you?" 

"I'm thinking about how wonderful it's been to be your partner, and what the Digital World will be like when we're all gone." 

"Poromon . . . you're the best." 

- 

"_Iori. Hora, Iori. Nakanaide. _[Iori. Hey, Iori. Don't cry.]" 

Iori looked up. "Upamon. You're still here." 

"Where else would I be?" 

Iori sighed. "Remember what we wished for the future world?" 

"For everyone to believe in each other." 

"What a waste of a wish." 

"Yeah." 

- 

Elsewhere in the city: 

_Sayonara [Goodbye], Mom, Dad. Thank you for always loving me._

_Sayonara, Wormmon. I'm glad you were always with me. And you can talk all you want. I'll stop thinking about other things and listen._

_Onii-san, ima sugu kimi ni ai ni yukou. [Older brother, I'll come to see you soon.]_

_-_

There was a terrible ghastly noise. The ground shook and burst. The Chosen Children, their families, their Digimon, and everyone else on the planet was reduced to a whiff of hydrogen, ozone, and carbon monoxide. 

There was a terrible ghastly silence.   


Disclaimer: Vanessa Vacation, her family, and Venton are mine. Digimon and all characters and indicia are property of Hongo Akiyoshi, Toei, Bandai, and Disney. No money is being made off this; I write because it's fun. :-) 


	2. What Became of the Digital World

The moment the Earth, with all its computer systems, was destroyed, the Digital World began to fall apart. Starting at the far reaches, everything dissolved into bits of data, which flowed inward to the digital nexus that was File Island and then disappeared. It had all been reconfigured before, three years ago, but this was much scarier, much more final. 

The Harmonious Ones, who protected each of the Digital World's four continents, knew what had happened. They made all speed to File Island to decide what to do. On the side of Infinity Mountain, they held one last meeting. 

"The Digital World is deleting quickly," said Qinglongmon. "Without the support of the computer systems of the real world, it can't hold itself together." 

"Where are the Chosen Children?" asked Zhuqiaomon. 

"Dead," answered Qinglongmon. "They were all in the real world when it happened." 

"At least they didn't get deleted here," said Baihumon, the tiger. "I would feel terrible if that happened." 

"There wouldn't be any way to save them," said Xuanwumon, the turtle. "And no way to save our world, either. No hope." 

"Nor light, nor anything else," sighed Qinglongmon. 

"Hey, wait!" someone else said suddenly. 

The Harmonious Ones' old friend Gennai was flying above them, mounted on an Airdramon. He was carrying one of the television monitors that the Chosen Children had used as gateways back to the Real World. 

"Hello, Gennai," said Qinglongmon. "Do you have something to say?" 

"Yes, sir," said Gennai. He dismounted, set the television on the ground, and knelt behind it. "I have thought of a way to keep our world alive." 

"Speak, then." 

"Not long ago, a visitor came to the Digital World. I was able to foresee her coming, and I left her a gift and a letter that named her as a friend of the Digital World. I've been keeping track of her as if she were Chosen, and I've found that she somehow got onto one of the spaceships that destroyed the Real World. I believe that among the five of us, we can form some of our world's data into a Digi-Egg, and use this TV to send it to her. Hopefully, she'll take it to another civilized world and leave it there to grow into a new Digital World." 

"How do you know there is another civilized world?" 

"Those ships must have come from somewhere." 

"You have thought wisely, Gennai. Come, let us collect the data." 

Long streams of data were now flowing past them to the summit of the mountain, where it was disappearing. The four Digimon began catching them as they passed and collecting them in front of the TV. Gennai carefully molded them into the shape of a Digi-Egg. 

Soon, the island was the last piece of land left. At this point, the Guardians stopped collecting data and gathered around the TV. To complete the Digi-Egg, they each contributed half of their own data, and in so doing regressed to their Child forms.   
Gennai took out a small electronic gadget with a screen and a few buttons. It was the prototype for the D-3s that had belonged to six of the Chosen Children. He looked at the screen. Good – Vanessa's signal was still there, and she was near what appeared to be a small, portable computer. Perfect. 

"It's time to send this egg on its way," he said. He held the device up to the TV. "Digital gate open!" 

The gate opened, and Gennai sent the Digi-Egg through it. "Good luck," he said. 

He and the now small Guardians watched as the last of the land dissolved into data. In moments, without any pain or regrets, they were gone.   


Disclaimer: Digimon and all characters and indicia are property of Hongo Akiyoshi, Toei, Bandai, and Disney. No money is being made off this; I write because it's fun. :-) 


	3. The Journey of the Egg

Through the rushing stream of cyberspace, a Digi-Egg raced. It was gray-brown in color, with a single vibrant green leaf sprouting from the top. It carried the data that had been salvaged from the dying Digital World. 

Moments ago, it had been sent into one end of a digital gate. Its intended recipient was Vanessa Vacation, a friend of the Digital World who had survived the destruction of Earth. Hopefully, she would carry it to another world where it could hatch and grow into a new Digital World. 

The other end of the digital gate was within the data banks of a device that was very much like a computer. However, it wasn't a computer, and it didn't belong to Vanessa. It was an electronic book called The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and it belonged to Vanessa's father, Vince. 

Soon after the arrival of the egg, Vince and his family were thrown into space and teleported to a place called Prydain. They stayed there until night had come and gone. There were no computers there. 

The family traveled on to another world, Starwood. Here, there were many computers, and not long after they'd arrived, Vince was face to face with one of them. 

The computer belonged to the director of the film in which Vince, his wife Velma, and Vanessa were to be extras. While the director entered their names, the Guide quietly connected via Sub-Etha Net to the computer. When this connection was made, the Digi-Egg streamed as invisible data into the computer and from there into Starwood's planetary computer network. 

Perfect. Here was the place it would start growing. 

Within a large data relay station, the egg came to a stop. It shook. It cracked, and brilliant white light shone out of the cracks. Finally, it hatched, releasing the whole enormous amount of light inside it, which spread far and wide across the digital plane. 

The light formed itself into hills, mountains, deserts, and many other features. The egg was at the peak of a mountain. The mountain was in the center of an island, which, just as before, was right in the center of the plane. 

Within a few hours, all was ready. The time had come for digital life to appear. 

Stray and deleted pieces of data from Starwood's computers had already begun to contribute to the young Digital World. This was added to the cloud of data that was hovering over the island. The cloud began to condense into round shapes – Digi-Eggs containing the very first new Digimon. 

It was just like it had been three Earth years ago after the defeat of Apocalymon. The eggs rained down on a flat, colorful spot on the island. They were as varied as ever. 

Time in the Digital World ran the same as on Starwood, and it was getting dark. The night passed in silence and peace. When the sun rose again the next day, the final miracle happened. The eggs began to hatch.   


Disclaimer: All things mentioned on Digimon belong to Hongo Akiyoshi, Toei, Bandai, and Disney. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy belongs to the late Douglas Adams. Everything else is mine. No money is being made off this; I write because it's fun. :-) 


	4. Rebirth of the Guardians

A/N: The Village of Beginnings is that place known in the dub as Primary Village.   


The soft light of morning shone down on the Village of Beginnings on the island in the middle of the Digital World. All over the village, Digi-Eggs were falling from the sky and hatching. 

In the midst of this scene, four Digi-Eggs colored light blue, green, red, and white landed. They all hatched at once, but the Digimon who came from them were not babies, so no cradles appeared for them. They were already at the Child level. They looked at each other and knew that there wwas a special connection between them. 

"Hi," siad the Digimon who had hatched from the light blue egg. "I'm Koukimon, who are you?" 

"I'm Konekomon," said another one. 

"My name is Torimon." 

"I'm Gamemon." 

"Why are we all here?" Konekomon wondered. 

"I don't know," said Torimon. 

"Me neither," said Gamemon. 

"Neither do I," said Koukimon, "but it would be good to find out." 

"How would we do that?" said Torimon. 

"We'll just try to learn whatever we can about this place," Koukimon answered. 

"Let's start right here!" said Konekomon. He was looking into one of the nearby cradles. The others joined him. 

The cradle was a light brown, rounded structure that seemed somehow to blend with the soft, pastel-colored ground. Inside it was a soft, round, black thing with bright yellow eyes - a Botamon, though the other Digimon didn't know it was called that. 

"It's a . . . Digimon," said Koukimon. "Like us." 

"Bo! Bo! Bo!" said Botamon. 

"Who are you?" asked Torimon. 

"Bo! Bo! Bo!" 

"Can you tell us where we are?" said Gamemon. 

"Bo! Bo! Bo!" 

"I guess we're on our own," said Konekomon. 

"No, look!" said Torimon, pointing. 

Moving in the distance was a red and purple Digimon with long ears. It looked into each cradle, lingered for a moment, then moved on to the next one. Koukimon and his friends approached it. 

"Hi there," said Koukimon. 

The strange Digimon jumped. "Y-y-you're Child-stages!" he exclaimed. "Like me!" 

"We are?" 

"Yeah. I'm Elecmon, and I was born like this, too. So, I took charge of the village and now I'm looking after all the babies. What about yourselves?" 

"I'm Koukimon. I just hatched, along with all of them." 

Then they all sounded off, in a spontaneous yet timeless and traditional way. "Koukimon!" "Konekomon!" "Torimon!" "Gamemon!" 

And all together: "We're Digimon! Digital Monsters!" 

"I _know_," said Elecmon. "You know, you're all mature enough to go away and find your own places in this world . . . or would you rather stay here and work with me?" 

"No, we'll go," said Koukimon. "We want to know all about all of this." 

"Okay. Goodbye, children." 

"Goodbye!" said the four. 

They walked across the village until they reached a pair of high towers. The towers marked the village's entrance and exit. 

"Would you look at that," said Koukimon. 

They saw now that the village was at the foot of a high, majestic mountain. 

"Is that where we're going?" said Torimon. 

"Yes," said Koukimon. 

"What's up there?" said Konekomon. 

"We'll find out when we get there." 

At first, the going was easy, but as they went on, the mountainside got steeper and steeper. The sun was rising higher in the sky, too, making the day hotter. Finally, Konekomon said, "I'm tired. Let's stop and rest." 

"There's something shiny up ahead," said Koukimon. "We'll stop there." 

They came to the edge of the shining pond and sat down. Looking into it, they could see their reflections. Koukimon, the lizard, had little beady black eyes and blue-gray scales. Torimon, the bird, had bright red feathers, with yellow and orange at the tips of her wings. Gamemon, the turtle, had a hard shell with a geometric pattern of lines on it. Konekomon, the cat, was brown and white and had big blue eyes. Curious, he reached out to touch the reflection. Finding only water, he instinctively bent down to drink. "Hey, this is good!" he said after a moment. "Try it!" 

Everyone did. "I feel much better now," said Torimon. 

"So do I," said Gamemon. "But let's stay here a little bit longer." 

"Okay," said Koukimon. 

When they felt rested, they kept on climbing. They passed by fewer and fewer trees as they neared the top of the mountain, and they had to pick their way through scattered rocks. Finally, they passed through a gap between two boulders and were at the mountain's peak. 

They stood at one end of a flat, oblong space. At the other end was what seemed to be a sculpture of some round thing that had split in half. There was an inscription on the rock wall between them. Above the inscription, also sculpted in rock, was a single leaf on a stalk. 

The little Digimon walked over to the inscription. It was written in Digi-Code, a language they could read easily. It read: 

_Be it known that on this spot, the summit of Infinity Mountain on File Island, the Seed Digi-Egg was opened and grew to create all the Digital World. The egg was created from the data of the original Digital World, which developed around the planet Earth. When the Earth was destroyed, the four Guardians, Qinglongmon, Xuanwumon, Zhuqiaomon, and Baihumon, along with their associate Gennai, collected some of the data from their dying world, formed it into the Seed Digi-Egg, and sent the egg to a digital device which bore it to the computer systems of another planet, where it sprouted._

_Be it known to Koukimon, Konekomon, Torimon, and Gamemon that they are the reborn Child forms of the same Four Guardians, and that when they have evolved to their Ultimate forms, they will go and watch over the four continents of the Digital World. When they arrive here, they will open these doors and enter the Chamber of the Past, where information on the original Digital World is stored. The energy of the Chamber will cause them to evolve to the Adult level. May they always prosper and work for the good of the Digital World._

"Now we know why we were born," said Konekomon. 

"And we know that we were meant to come here," said Koukimon. 

"Protecting a whole world sounds hard," commented Gamemon. 

"Maybe it won't be so hard for us," said Torimon. "After all, it is what we were meant to do. Come on, let's go in!" 

"Yes, let's," said Koukimon. 

"We'll all have to push together to open the doors," said Konekomon. 

"Then that's what we'll do. One, two, three . . . _push!_"

The heavy stone doors swung open slowly. All together, the Digimon stepped into the chamber. Suddenly, a brilliant white light surrounded them, bringing with it a rush of energy. 

"Koukimon, evolve! Steeldramon!" 

"Konekomon, evolve! Shiromon!" 

"Torimon, evolve! Hanemon!" 

"Gamemon, evolve! Kuromon!" 

Thrilled, the Digimon looked over their powerful new forms. Steeldramon was still blue, but he now stood on two legs and wore green shorts and a steel helmet with three spikes. Shiromon was a pure white beast something like a lion. Hanemon was still a bird, but larger and more beautiful, and Kuromon had the same shape as Steeldramon, but with black skin and a dark green shell. 

"Wow!" said Steeldramon. "Look at us!" 

"I feel like I could do anything!" said Kuromon. 

"We sure grow up fast," said Shiromon. 

"This is great!" said Hanemon. 

They ventured further into the cave and found that it opened out into a huge library. Bookshelves lined all the walls, and in the middle of the room was a table with four very thick books sitting on it. They came closer and saw that these were four copies of The History and Geography of the Digital World.

"It msut be important for us to know this, if we're going to be responsible for this whole world someday," said Steeldramon, "so let's start reading." 

They all sat down with the books, opened them, and began to relearn what it had been like in the old Digital World.   


Disclaimer: Digimon and all related characters, places, etc. belong to Akiyoshi Hongo, Toei Animation, Bandai, and Disney. Special thanks to GigadramonYagami for coming up with Steeldramon's name. No money is being made off this; I write because it's fun. :-) 


	5. The Final Evolution

Over a month had passed since the Digimon who would become Guardians had reached the top of Infinity Mountain. Since then, they had learned much about their world and its history, and they had evolved to their Perfect forms. Steeldramon was now Seiryumon, Shiromon was Byakomon, Hanemon was Kazakimon, and Kuromon was Genbumon. 

One morning, Kazakimon looked out across the ocean and saw a mass of gray clouds in the distance. Lightning flashed from the clouds into the ocean, and after a pause, she heard the thunder.  


"What are you looking at?" asked Seiryumon, coming up behind her.  


"It's a storm," said Kazakimon. The lightning flashed again, and the thunder cracked, after a shorter pause. "It's coming closer."  


"If it comes here," Seiryumon said suddenly, "Elecmon and the others down at the village will be in danger. We have to protect them!"  


They went and found the other two Perfect-levels and Seiryumon told them, "There's a storm coming here. Will you help us protect the Digimon down in the village?"  


"Yes," said Genbumon.  


"Of course," said Byakomon. "I know something we can do. There's a little cave about a third of the way up the mountain. I could make it big enough for everyone."  


"I'll help with that," said Genbumon.

"And I could collect branches to cover the entrance," said Seiryumon.  


"Me too," said Kazakimon, "and afterwards, I'll go and get everyone from the village."  


"All right," said Seiryumon. "Let's go!"  


Byakomon raced up the side of the mountain to the little cave. "White Lightning Blast!" His special attack widened the cave, but left it full of rubble. He and Genbumon began pushing it out of the cave.  


Seiryumon and Kazakimon flew around the island, collecting tree branches. The wind blew harder against them. When they finally got to the cave, everyone sat down and began weaving the branches into a thick mat. After a while, clouds darkened the sky. "I have to go now," said Kazakimon. "Are we finished yet?"  


"Almost," said Byakomon.  


"Don't worry," said Genbumon. "We'll have this done by the time you get back."  


Kazakimon flew down to the village as quickly as she could and called, "Elecmon!"  


The small red Digimon ran up to her. "Who are you?" he asked.  


"I'm Kazakimon, but I used to be Torimon."  


"Oh! Nice to see you again."  


"You, too. Listen, my friends and I have made a storm shelter for you and all the babies. I need your help to round them all up and get them to the shelter."  


"Thank you! Let's do it!" The two of them shepherded all the baby Digimon to the gates of the village. "We're going away for a while," Elecmon explained to them, "so we can get out of the rain."  


"Will we ever come back?" asked a little pink Pururumon.  


"Yes, we will," said Elecmon.  


Kazakimon led the way up to the cave with dozens of babies bouncing along behind her. After a long and hard hike, they reached their destination. Kazakimon's friends were holding the branch cover up over the entrance.  


"Kazakimon!" cried Seiryumon. "You did it!"  


"You did it too!" she answered. "Thank you!"  


"Everyone inside!" Elecmon instructed the babies.  


They scrambled into the cave. Kazakimon, who was already inside, watched them enter - and then saw one of them tossed away on the wind, and heard its terrified cry, as well as Elecmon's: "Leafmon! No!"  


"I'll save him!" said Kazakimon.  


"You can't fly in this storm!" said Seiryumon.  


"I'm going to try!" Kazakimon flew out of the cave.  


The sky was now completely covered with clouds, and the wind was furious. Kazakimon spotted Leafmon blowing helplessly around. Struggling against the wind, she reached him and caught him carefully in one powerful taloned foot just as rain started to fall. She returned to the cave and the other Guardians covered the entrance.  


Thunder broke over the island, and rain hammered on the branches. Kazakimon set Leafmon down and rested, worn out from the ordeal.  


"Thank you for saving Leafmon," said Elecmon, who was now comforting the terrified baby Digimon.  


"You're welcome," said Kazakimon. "I'm so glad we're all safe and dry in here."  


They waited out the long hours of the storm together. When the sounds of rain and wind outside the cave had died down, they knew that it was all over.  


"Finally!" said Byakomon. "Let's get out of here!"  


The Guardians pushed the branches away from the entrance and stepped out of the cave, walking over broken plants and rocks left over from the excavation that had taken place earlier. They had gone only a few feet when the sun burst through the clouds and shone on them. The time had come for their final evolution.  


At last, they returned to their Ultimate-level forms: Qinglongmon, Zhuqiaomon, Xuanwumon, and Baihumon. The babies and Elecmon watched them in awe.  


"We did it!" said Zhuqiaomon.  


"I guess we earned our Ultimate forms back by saving all the babies," said Qinglongmon.  


"Now we can travel to the other parts of the Digital World to watch over them," said Baihumon.  


"You're going?" said Elecmon. "Why?"  


"After we first left the village," Qinglongmon explained, "we went up to the top of this mountain and found a message for us. It said that we are the guardians of this whole world, and when we get to the Ultimate level, we have to go away and watch over our own domains. It's our destiny."  


"We don't want you to leave!" said Leafmon. "You're our heroes!"  


"Wait a minute," said Xuanwumon. "This is where new Digimon come from. There won't be any where we're going unless we take them there."  


"That's true," said Qinglongmon. Then he asked Elecmon, "Will you decide which of the babies are ready to leave here? We'll be going in a few days."  


"All right," said Elecmon, a little sadly.  


*******  


Several days later, rafts had been constructed for Baihumon and Xuanwumon, who couldn't fly. Some of the older babies had been selected to go with the Guardians - Koromon, Tanemon, Bukamon, Tokomon, Nyaromon, Upamon, Gigimon, Viximon, Gummymon, Kokomon, Kapurimon, Yaamon, and many more.  


Everyone gathered on the beach to see them off. Some of the babies boarded the rafts, and others mounted Zhuqiaomon and Qinglongmon.  


"Goodbye," said Elecmon. "I hope to see you again someday."  


"Goodbye, Elecmon," said Qinglongmon. "I will come back."  


Elecmon waved and the remaining babies squeaked their goodbyes as the four Guardians sailed and flew away, each in a different direction.  


  
Disclaimer: Digimon and all related characters, places, etc. belong to Akiyoshi Hongo, Toei Animation, Bandai, and Disney. No money is being made off this; I write because it's fun. :-)  



End file.
